Exoplanets in the neighborhood

The twin 10m Keck telescopes at Mauna Kea in Hawaii have identified 100 more exoplanet candidates. One of them is just 8.3 lightyears away!

What country holds the record for the most satellites launched on a single launch vehicle? India! Last Tuesday, the Indian Space Resource Organization launched 104 nano satellites; 3 from India, 13 from several European countries and 88 E-O sats from a US company, Planet Labs. They are 1000 times lower in weight than legacy communication satellites, and are imaging the entire landmass of Earth every day.

Jupiter is rising in the late evening now. Venus still commands the southwest sky after sunset with Mars standing by.

Believe it or not, Orion and the winter circle are losing their sky dominance to the spring constellations Gemini, Cancer, and Leo. There are only 30 more days until the Vernal (Spring) Equinox.